JP2000208216A - Connector with low insertion force - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector with low insertion force capable of reducing insertion force in inserting and fitting a male connector and a female connector with each other, and securely elastically contacting a contact part of the male terminal with an elastic contact piece of the female terminal in a state of full insertion. SOLUTION: This connector with low insertion force is provided with an insertion auxiliary rib 33 in a fitting hood 19 for reducing inserting resistance of a contact part 17 against an elastic contact part 21 by inserting into a male connector housing 7 and bending the elastic contact piece 27 in inserting the male connector housing 7 into the fitting hood 19, and for releasing the bending of the elastic contact piece 27 in a state of full insertion of the male connector housing 7 into the fitting hood 19.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a low insertion force connector capable of inserting and removing connection terminals with low insertion / removal force.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional connector of this type is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-239780, as shown in FIGS.

In this connector, a receiving terminal 102 having a movable contact piece 102a is fixed inside, and a braking member 105 partially having a concave portion 105a on its surface is internally provided slidably in the insertion direction. 1 housing 101
And a second housing 103 having a built-in insertion connection terminal 104 and a tongue-shaped release portion 103a provided therein.

Prior to insertion of the insertion portion 104a of the insertion connection terminal 104 into the connection portion of the receiving connection terminal 102, as shown in FIG.
Is pressed by the braking member 105, the spring force is weakened, and the insertion resistance is reduced. When the insertion portion 104a of the insertion connection terminal 104 is completely inserted into the connection portion of the receiving connection terminal 102, the braking member 105 Is pushed inward by the release portion 103a, the free end 102b of the movable contact piece 102a fits into the recess 105a of the braking member 105, the free end 102b is opened, and the movable contact piece 102a exerts a spring force. Thus, the insertion portion 104a of the insertion connection terminal 104 is pressed into contact.

[0005]

However, the first problem with the conventional connector as described above is that the free end 102b of the movable contact piece 102a is pushed by the braking member 105 to reduce the spring force of the movable contact piece 102a. As the number of poles increases, the insertion force of the braking member 105 increases, and the braking member 10
It is conceivable that an incomplete insertion of No. 5 or the like occurs, causing a problem.

A second problem is that the receiving connection terminal 1
02 to the insertion portion 104a of the insertion connection terminal 104
When pulling out, first, the braking member 105 is released from the release unit 10.
3a must be pulled out by the claw 103b,
Since resistance occurs in this process, the separation force is not reduced.

The third problem is that the provision of the braking member 105 and the release portion 103a increases the number of components, increases costs, and complicates component management.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and can reduce an insertion force at the time of inserting and fitting a male connector and a female connector.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a low insertion force connector capable of reliably bringing a contact portion of a male terminal into elastic contact with an elastic contact piece of a female terminal in a completely inserted state.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the present invention, a plurality of female terminals having an elastic contact portion having elastic contact pieces are accommodated in a male connector housing. A male connector and a plurality of male terminals respectively connected to the female terminal are housed in a female connector housing, and the contact portion of the male terminal is located in a fitting hood into which the male connector is inserted and fitted. A low insertion force connector comprising: a protruding female connector, wherein the contact portion of the male terminal is inserted into the resilient contact portion and is resiliently connected to the resilient contact piece. When the male connector housing is inserted into the male connector housing, the male connector housing is inserted into the male connector housing to deflect the elastic contact piece, thereby reducing the insertion resistance of the contact part into the elastic contact part and the fitting hood. Wherein the insertion auxiliary rib for releasing the deflection of the resilient contact piece in a state of complete insertion of the male connector housing provided within the fitting hood portion to which said.

Therefore, the insertion force at the time of inserting and fitting the male connector and the female connector can be reduced, and in the fully inserted state, the contact portion of the male terminal is reliably elastically contacted with the elastic contact piece of the female terminal. Can be.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the low insertion force connector according to the first aspect, wherein the elastic contact portion includes an inner wall of the female terminal and the elastic contact piece disposed opposite to the inner wall. A rib body having a contact portion of the male terminal inserted between the inner wall and the elastic contact piece to be elastically clamped, and the insertion auxiliary rib projecting from a bottom wall of the fitting hood portion; A rib body formed from the tip of the main body toward the root side, wherein the elastic contact piece slides when the male connector housing is inserted into the fitting hood part, and flexes the elastic contact piece in a direction away from the inner wall; And a concave portion provided at an intermediate portion of the male connector housing to release the bending of the elastic contact piece when the male connector housing is completely inserted into the fitting hood portion.

Therefore, when the male connector housing is inserted into the fitting hood portion into the insertion assisting rib, the elastic contact piece slides to bend the elastic contact piece away from the inner wall. Since the concave portion from which the elastic contact piece is released from bending when the male connector housing is completely inserted is formed, the same operation as the operation according to the first aspect of the invention can be obtained.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the low insertion force connector according to the second aspect, wherein a tip portion of the elastic contact piece slides on the tapered portion to bend the elastic contact piece. It has a spring operation part.

Therefore, an operation equivalent to the operation according to the second aspect of the present invention can be obtained, and a spring operating portion is provided at the tip of the elastic contact piece to slide on the tapered portion to bend the elastic contact piece. Therefore, the action of bending the elastic contact piece is further improved.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the low insertion force connector according to the second or third aspect, wherein the insertion auxiliary rib is provided when the male connector housing is inserted into the fitting hood. The connector has a support wall that slides on the inner wall of the connector housing.

Accordingly, an operation equivalent to the operation according to the second or third aspect of the invention is obtained, and the supporting wall is slidably in contact with the insertion assisting rib on the inner wall of the male connector housing when the male connector housing is inserted into the fitting hood portion. Is provided, it is possible to easily and accurately insert the male connector housing into the fitting hood portion.

[0017]

1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described below. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the low insertion force connector of the present embodiment, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are operation explanatory diagrams of the low insertion force connector of the present embodiment.

The male connector 1 forms a terminal accommodating chamber 3,
A male connector housing 7 for accommodating a plurality of female terminals 5 (only one is shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and others are not shown) is provided.

The female connector 9 forms a terminal accommodating chamber 11 and accommodates a plurality of male terminals 13 (only one is shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and others are omitted). The housing 15 has a contact portion 17 of the male terminal 13 projecting therefrom and a fitting hood portion 19 into which the male connector 1 is inserted and fitted.

The female terminal 5 provided in the male connector housing 7 is formed by stamping and bending a conductive metal plate, and the female terminal 5 has an elastic contact portion into which the contact portion 17 of the male terminal 13 is inserted. 21 are provided. The elastic contact portion 21
An inner wall 25 bent from the side surface of the bottom portion 23 and an elastic contact piece 27 that is disposed opposite to the inner wall 25 and extends from the bottom portion 23 and is turned back toward the inner wall 25 are formed. Bottom 2
A part of 3 is attached by a flexible locking piece 29 provided on the male connector housing 7.

The elastic contact piece 27 is always
When the contact portion 17 of the male terminal 13 is inserted between the inner terminal 25 and the inner wall 25, the contact portion 17 is elastically held by the elastic force of the elastic contact piece 27.

A spring operating portion 31 for bending the elastic contact piece 27 by applying an external force is provided at the tip of the elastic contact piece 27.
Is provided.

In the fitting hood portion 19, the insertion assist rib 3
3 are provided. The insertion assist rib 33 includes a rib body 37 protruding from the bottom wall 35 of the fitting hood 19, a tapered portion 39 formed from the tip of the rib body 37 toward the root, and an intermediate portion of the rib body 37. Recess 41 formed in
And a support wall 43 slidably in contact with the inner wall 7a of the male connector housing 7.

When the male connector housing 7 is inserted into the fitting hood 19, the spring operating portion 31 of the elastic contact piece 27 slides, and the tapered portion 39 of the rib body 37 slides.
Is bent in a direction away from the inner wall 25.

The concave portion 41 of the rib body 37 releases the bending of the elastic contact piece 27 when the male connector housing 7 is completely inserted into the fitting hood portion 19. When the male connector housing 7 is inserted into the fitting hood 19, the insertion auxiliary rib 33 slides on the support wall 43 of the rib main body 37 against the inner wall 7 a of the male connector housing 7.

In the figure, reference numeral 45 denotes an insertion assist rib insertion port provided in the male connector housing 7. The female terminal 5
The electric wires connected to the male terminal 13 and the male terminal 13 are not shown.

Next, the operation of the low insertion force connector will be described with reference to FIGS.

The fitting between the male connector 1 and the female connector 9 is as follows.
This is performed by inserting the male connector housing 7 of the male connector 1 into the fitting hood 19 of the female connector 9.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the inner wall 7a of the male connector housing 7 is slidably brought into contact with the support wall 43 of the insertion assist rib 33 and inserted into the fitting hood portion 19, the elastic contact portion 2
The spring operating portion 31 of the first elastic contact piece 27 is
The elastic contact piece 27 slides along the third tapered portion 39 and is bent in a direction away from the inner wall 25 of the elastic contact portion 21. Therefore, at the time of insertion, the contact portion 17 of the male terminal 13 does not receive the resistance of the elastic contact piece 27,
It is inserted into an elastic contact portion 21 formed between the inner wall 7 and the inner wall 25.

When the male connector housing 7 is completely inserted into the fitting hood 19 as shown in FIG.
The spring operating portion 31 of the elastic contact piece 27 of the elastic contact portion 21 is fitted into the concave portion 41 of the insertion auxiliary rib 33, the bending of the elastic contact piece 27 is released, and the contact portion 17 of the male terminal 13 is moved to the spring of the elastic contact piece 27. Elastic clamping by force.

When the male connector 1 and the female connector 9 shown in FIG. 3 are separated from each other in a completely fitted state, the male connector housing 7 is slightly pulled out of the fitting hood 19 to make the elastic contact portion 21 elastic. Spring operating portion 31 of contact piece 27
Is detached from the concave portion 41 of the insertion assist rib 33, and the tapered portion 3
As a result, the elastic contact piece 27 is bent in a direction away from the inner wall 25 of the elastic contact portion 21 via the spring operating portion 31. Therefore, even when detached, the contact portion 17 of the male terminal 13 does not receive the resistance of the elastic contact piece 27 and the elastic contact piece 2
It is extracted from the elastic contact portion 21 formed between the inner wall 7 and the inner wall 25.

[0032]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the plurality of female terminals having the elastic contact portions provided with the elastic contact pieces are accommodated in the male connector housing. A male connector and a plurality of male terminals respectively connected to the female terminals are housed in a female connector housing, and the contact portions of the male terminals project into a fitting hood into which the male connectors are inserted and fitted. A low-insertion-force connector, comprising a female connector provided therein, wherein a contact portion of the male terminal is inserted into the elastic contact portion and is elastically contacted with an elastic contact piece to be connected. When the male connector housing is inserted into the male connector housing, the male connector housing is inserted into the male connector housing to deflect the elastic contact piece, thereby reducing the insertion resistance of the contact part into the elastic contact part and to the fitting hood part. Since the insertion assist rib for releasing the bending of the elastic contact piece in a state where the male connector housing is completely inserted is provided in the fitting hood portion, the insertion force at the time of inserting and fitting the male connector and the female connector is reduced. In addition, the contact portion of the male terminal can be reliably brought into elastic contact with the elastic contact piece of the female terminal in the completely inserted state.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the elastic contact portion is formed by the inner wall of the female terminal and the elastic contact piece disposed opposite to the inner wall, and the contact portion of the male terminal is formed by the inner wall. The insertion assisting rib is inserted between the elastic contact piece and the elastic contact piece, and the insertion assisting rib is formed from a tip end of the rib body protruding from the bottom wall of the fitting hood portion toward a root side. A taper portion for sliding the elastic contact piece in a direction away from the inner wall when the male connector housing is inserted into the fitting hood portion; and a fitting hood portion provided at an intermediate portion of a rib body. Since the male connector housing is completely inserted into the male connector housing, the elastic contact piece is formed with a concave portion from which the bending is released, so that the same effect as the operation according to the first aspect of the present invention can be obtained.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the elastic contact piece has a spring operating portion at the tip end thereof for sliding on the tapered portion to bend the elastic contact piece. The same effect as the effect by the above is obtained, and the effect of bending the elastic contact piece is further improved.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the insertion assisting rib has a support wall surface that slides on the inner wall of the male connector housing when the male connector housing is inserted into the fitting hood. The same effect as the operation according to the invention of Item 2 or 3 is obtained, and the insertion of the male connector housing into the fitting hood portion can be performed easily and accurately.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a low insertion force connector according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an operation explanatory view of the low insertion force connector according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory view of the low insertion force connector of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a conventional example.

FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Male connector 5 Female terminal 7 Male connector housing 7a, 25 Inner wall 9 Female connector 13 Male terminal 15 Female connector housing 17 Contact part 19 Fitting hood part 21 Elastic contact part 27 Elastic contact piece 31 Spring operating part 33 Insertion auxiliary rib 39 Taper Part 41 recess 43 supporting wall

Claims (4)

[Claims] A male connector in which a plurality of female terminals having an elastic contact portion having elastic contact pieces are accommodated in a male connector housing, and a plurality of male terminals respectively connected to the female terminals are female connectors. A female connector housed in the housing and having a contact portion of the male terminal protruded in a fitting hood portion into which the male connector is inserted and fitted;
A low insertion force connector in which the contact portion of the male terminal is inserted into the elastic contact portion and is elastically contacted with the elastic contact piece, and is connected when the male connector housing is inserted into the fitting hood portion. The male connector housing was inserted into the male connector housing to bend the elastic contact piece to reduce the insertion resistance of the contact portion to the elastic contact portion, and the male connector housing was completely inserted into the fitting hood portion. A low insertion force connector, wherein an insertion assisting rib for releasing bending of the elastic contact piece in a state is provided in the fitting hood portion. 2. The low insertion force connector according to claim 1, wherein the elastic contact portion is formed by an inner wall of the female terminal and the elastic contact piece disposed opposite to the inner wall. A contact portion is inserted between the inner wall and the elastic contact piece to be elastically clamped, and the insertion auxiliary rib projects from a bottom wall of the fitting hood portion; And a taper portion formed so as to allow the elastic contact piece to slide when the male connector housing is inserted into the fitting hood portion and to bend the elastic contact piece away from the inner wall, and to be provided at an intermediate portion of the rib body. A low insertion force connector comprising: a recess in which the elastic contact piece is released from bending when the male connector housing is completely inserted into the fitting hood portion. 3. The low insertion force connector according to claim 2, further comprising a spring operating portion provided at a distal end portion of the elastic contact piece to slide on the tapered portion to bend the elastic contact piece. Features a low insertion force connector. 4. The low insertion force connector according to claim 2, wherein the insertion holding rib slides on an inner wall of the male connector housing when the male connector housing is inserted into the fitting hood portion. A low insertion force connector having a support wall.